Environmental charities

[neil_fahey]

Hi all,

Just looking for some feedback on environmental NFP's/charities... If I was looking to make a regular donation (monthly or yearly) to an organisation that protects Australia's wild places and/or wildlife, who do you think would best use my money and why?

Thanks
Neil

[north-north-west]

My personal favourites are the land acquisition mobs: Bush Heritage, Australian Land Conservancy, Tasmanian Land Conservancy.
They buy available properties in target areas and do masses of remediation and protection work there, removing feral species, combating erosion, all that sort of thing. They've had some remarkable success stories in many different places.

[neil_fahey]

Thanks nnw... I was actually thinking of Bush Heritage originally but I don't know that much about them. Will research your suggestions further.

What about the Bob Brown Foundation? Bob seems to be doing good things. I love the idea of his Tarkine hike.

[Nuts]

CVA?

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cons ... 8gfckqToDg

On the ground conservation Work that doesn't otherwise get done. Always needed and almost all $ flow through.
(they don't get much green support as they run the govn's Green Army projects under contract, but that's fine )

[whitefang]

Personally, I wouldn't donate to CVA. They have a lot of green army teams doing on ground works and compared to other land care groups are a lot more funded. A group that acquired land would be a good place to donate.

[neil_fahey]

Thanks for the suggestion Nuts but that's a good point, whitefang. Definitely something to consider.

[north-north-west]

What about the Bob Brown Foundation? Bob seems to be doing good things. I love the idea of his Tarkine hike.

Bob is good people. He's always been doing good things. They get involved more in the political side of things.
Of course, we need both the political activism and the practical boots in the mud stuff. You pays your money and takes your choice. Or you can do the 50-50 thing with it.

[stepbystep]

Pick your project, nnw's suggestions are good. Ask what they are doing with their dollars. Make sure it's going to the project you are into. I have problems with ENGO's that don't define that stuff. Best thing to donate is your time

[Nuts]

Perhaps, whitefang, but GA is under contract, Conservation Volunteers aren't. They get a wage from the partner agency but profits go to other unfunded, community inclusive programs, $ = work done.. (just to add)

[neil_fahey]

Absoluteely stepbystep... I guess I'm kinda trying to cheat by asking what people on here already know about that kind of stuff. Totally agree on the time thing. Not something I'm rich in, though, with a 6 and an 8-year-old.

You might be onto something there, nnw! Maybe I should choose 2 or 3 and divide equally.

[stepbystep]

Absoluteely stepbystep... I guess I'm kinda trying to cheat by asking what people on here already know about that kind of stuff. Totally agree on the time thing. Not something I'm rich in, though, with a 6 and an 8-year-old.

You might be onto something there, nnw! Maybe I should choose 2 or 3 and divide equally.

Or look at what's most urgent, CSG, GBR, global worming? Writing to pollies is huge. It's a good move to simply contact the ENGO that speaks to you on these issues and find out what they need you to do. Needs change over time.

Oh and the Tarkine

[neil_fahey]

Good point. I kind of already do that though. I'm looking for something, specifically, to donate a portion of the money I make off Bushwalking Blog / AussieHikingTours.com to. That's why my cause is so specific.

[stepbystep]

Good point. I kind of already do that though. I'm looking for something, specifically, to donate a portion of the money I make off Bushwalking Blog / AussieHikingTours.com to. That's why my cause is so specific.

Ah, gotcha, perhaps someone that is doing good work close to your links, bit of research I guess. If you are doing tours and educating people on the natural values in those regions, it's a logical extension to encourage the punters to look at charity X that helps those areas. Best of luck Neil.

[Nuts]

Wildcare projects probably most specifically to bushwalkers ( http://wildcare.org.au/help-us/donate/ )
In Tas we throw a bit to the rescue trust (not enviro I guess but a good one) ( https://www.westpacrescuetas.com.au/sup ... undraising )

[whitefang]

Perhaps, whitefang, but GA is under contract, Conservation Volunteers aren't. They get a wage from the partner agency but profits go to other unfunded, community inclusive programs, $ = work done.. (just to add)

Nuts, that may be the case, but CVA have a lot of funding and support from their partners and draw other funding from memberships. They are a big group and do require a lot of money to operate, but as far as I can tell most, if not all of their on-ground work is done by volunteers or Green Army (correct me if I'm wrong). Volunteers and GA aren't all that able to do specialised work. In my opinion, it would be better to donate to a group that needs financial aid to do specialised work as well as engaging volunteers for the easier tasks. This is not to say that CVA don't do good work, I just think that other foundations could use the money more.

Take what I say as one side of the argument though, I work for a group that undertakes bush care and revegetation so my opinion is biased in that I would prefer funding go to employees who can undertake specialised work rather than mostly to GA and volunteers.

[Nuts]

I have a lot of time for CVA, it was such fresh air after working for a more politically motivated NGO.
Substantially, I think much of the cost goes to a team leader for the volunteers.
Personally i'd like to see helping such groups as a popular weekend activity, aussies aren't the biggest volunteers.
Green Army (Greencorps/Leap) have always been a shining light from the government subsidy mire (imo). A friend still works for them here on the coast, iv'e seen the program turn wayward kids into educated professionals, even environmentalists, quite something : ).. anyway,

I like Bushcare, Landcare and Greening Australia programs (just from what I see of their programs)

[PeterJ]

Another that regularly gets my money is Australian Wildlife Conservancy. They along with ABH (mentioned in earlier post) work Australia wide and deliver very good value for money, most going to on ground work. AWC use leading edge science to implement property management. Have a look at their website.

[tastrax]

Wildcare projects probably most specifically to bushwalkers ( http://wildcare.org.au/help-us/donate/ )
In Tas we throw a bit to the rescue trust (not enviro I guess but a good one) ( https://www.westpacrescuetas.com.au/sup ... undraising )

If you like to donate specifically to Tasmanian projects then Wildcare Tasmania has some great projects. You can donate to specific funds that support particular causes.

http://wildcaretas.org.au/donations/

This is the organisation that Dick Smith and Rob Pennicott donate to for projects such as the Frenchmans Cap track upgrade and island projects like the cat eradication on Tasman Island or the rat eradication on Big Green Island. The funding supports many projects that in the main have local volunteers doing much of the work.

http://wildcaretas.org.au/group-news/wi ... anks-dick/

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/na ... 068c448f2a
- great video

[PeterJ]

Also worth considering is foundation for national parks and wildlife,
http://www.fnpw.org.au/
They are running an appeal for the Tas WHA fires at moment.

They fund lots of on-ground work and recently gave the Friends of Mount Field $11k for track upgrading.

[neil_fahey]

Wow! Sorry about the delayed response but I thought nobody had been responding as I didn't receive a notification.

So many great ideas here and I think, as I mentioned above, I'm going to have to spread the love around. Everything I've read about all of these organisations suggests to me that they do good work and use their donations well. Who says I need to just send it all to the one place, anyway? Thanks so much for the suggestions, guys!